America's Biggest Eaters: Sonya 'The Black Widow' Thomas

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - Three words describe the world series of eating: "Dunking is gross."

So says Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, the 41-year-old woman that has the big boys of the competitive eating circuit watching their backs.

Thomas is one of the few women to have success on the competitive eater circuit. She is always a threat at Nathan's Famous July Fourth International Hot Dog Eating Championship, having finished near the top in recent years. And many are pulling for her to win the biggest food eating event.

The petite woman from Alexandria, Va. moved to America in 1995 from her home country of South Korea. Her family in Korea was at first worried about her health in the eating competitions, but Thomas said that she always gets her health checked and assured her family that she was taking care of herself.

She said that she maintains her slight figure (she weighs only 105 pounds) by running on the treadmill and constantly moving during her job as the manager of a Burger King restaurant. She works long shifts and hardly eats while working.

She said her employees are always surprised to learn that she is a star eater, "They tell their friends 'My manager is a big star' and they search my videos on YouTube."

In 2001 Thomas saw Takeru Kobayashi win Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest and was surprised by the media buzz that the event generated. With her competitive nature and ability to eat a lot (she says she is a big fan of buffets,) she decided to enter a contest.

She quickly rose through the ranks of competitive eating and has been on the circuit for the past seven years. In 2003 she was named IFOCE Rookie of the Year. She lists 37 world records for 35 different foods on her website. And she says she never thinks about retiring.

Wings have a special place in her heart (and stomach) as she said that Wing Bowl in 2004 was a great win for her.

"My happiest moment [in competitive eating] was when I became the first (and perhaps last) female ever to win Wing Bowl."

She says that she is stronger at other food events that center on seafood like oysters, clams, crawfish, and lobster, but hot dogs and buns on the Fourth is biggest event of the year.

"I wish people wouldn't associate me so much with hot dogs. They're one of my worst foods in competition," she wrote in an email. "Probably a half dozen men in the world are better than me – lots better.

"But, Nathan's is the biggie. To paraphrase George Shea, IFOCE Chairman, 'What could be more American than eating Nathan's Hot Dogs on Coney Island on the 4th of July?' That about says it all. Just look at the crowds every year."

So how does the "Black Widow" get ready for the "biggie"?

"Training? I don't train. I don't practice. What I eat is what I eat," Thomas explained. "Eating at the qualifier earlier this month was the first time I had even one hot dog since July 4th of last year. I hate practicing. It's boring and it's a waste of food that I don't even want!"

She does maintain that she has a game plan and feels that the competition is mostly mental, but you need the body to take the stuffing

"I try to set a pace and eat at that pace for the length of the contest," she wrote. "CE (competitive eating) is mostly mental, but you still have to have talent, to include hand speed, stomach capacity, jaw strength, and speed of swallow."

When competing she does not like the distraction of music or iPods and said she just "focuses on eating."

More. This year's event is filled with all the drama and excitement of a world-class fight:
• Joey Chestnut is going for his fourth consecutive title.
• Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti is trying to get to the top.
• Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas seeks to remain the top woman.
• Bob "Notorious B.O.B." Shoudt is looking to eat his age in hot dogs and buns.
• What surpise does "Eater X" Tim Janus has in store for the crowd.